These are the dramatic moments a FlyBe flight almost hit the runway in the winds [Cavendish]

In West Sussex, a lightning strike at Angmering caused signalling problems which affected services.

Those travelling from London through the Midlands and to the north west of England had to put up with speed restrictions tonight, with passengers warned to expect their journeys to take up to 60 minutes longer than normal.

Sections of many roads were closed due to flooding, with the depth of water causing a lane of the M25 in Surrey to close. Fallen trees added to the problems for motorists.

Among areas and routes affected by flooded roads and obstructions on the road were Purley in south London, a number of routes in Worcester city, the A29 in West Sussex, the A35 at Christchurch in Dorset, the A30 in Somerset, the A41 in Shropshire, and the A49 Wigan Road at Ashton-in-Makerfield in Greater Manchester.

Part of the M25 was flooded today [WENN]

At Manchester Airport a passenger plane was forced to come into land as strong winds meant one of its wings nearly smashed into the runway.

The Flybe twin-engine craft came into land and was almost forced to smash into the ground as it was battered by gusts of up to 80mph.

While Ireland has already been severely affected with more than 260,000 homes without power in the worst outage in years, according to the Electricity Supply Board.

Uprooted trees near Fishguard, West Wales [HUW EVANS]

The enormous storm dominates the northern hemisphere when seen from space [EUMETSAT ]

The storm has triggered torrential downpours across the south and south-west with several inches likely over the next 24 hours.

Wales will continue to be battered by the ferocious winds throughout the night and they will extend in to North Wales and North West England with more severe disruption likely.

The Government has put out a raft of nation-wide alerts for brutal gales, rain and even snow in the north which is braced for blizzards.

The public have been urged NOT to travel tonight unless it is absolutely necessary.

Storm Darwin, which has battered the west coast of Ireland, will rip into Britain before tearing though the country through today and into tomorrow.

An Army Landrover drives through flood water in the High Street [GETTY]

Visitors brave the wind and rain on Brighton seafront as another set of storms batter Britain [ALAMY]

Current pressure models show pressure of 958 millibars at the centre of the storm - similar in intensity to the catastrophic Great Storm of 1987 which dipped to 951mb.

A Met Office level-2 amber alert for strong wind is in place across the entire south, south west and western Britain, with the whole of England under a yellow warning.

Met Office chief forecaster Martin Young said: “A first peak in the winds is likely over southern and southwest England around the middle of today but with the main swathe of evenstronger and potentially damaging winds crossing parts of Wales then northern England later in the day.

“The public should be prepared for the the risk of disruption to transport and possibly also power supplies. In addition, large waves are likely to affect some coasts.”

Storm Darwin is loaded with a ­powerful “sting jet” similar to one that drove the devastating Great Storm of October 1987.It hits as experts said the flood crisis is likely to drag on for months with groundwater levels at their highest for 13 years.

Surrey Police said around 1,000 homes in the area have been affected today by flooding with 600 people evacuated.

The Environment Agency has issued 17 flood warnings in the South West, meaning action required.

Massive waves break against the harbour wall at Porthcawl in south Wales today [REUTERS]

The latest forecasting models show an even BIGGER storm could hit the UK next Thursday [METEOCIEL]

Phil Ward, Porthleven's harbour master, said: "The wind is lifting the backs of the cars nearly.

"If this wind keeps up when the tides start to flood we'll see what happens. It's just one storm after another, no break to it."

David Cameron warned “things may get worse before they get better” and revealed he has ­cancelled a trip to Israel next week to deal with the crisis.

He cut short his attendance at an international conference tomorrow to focus on dealing with the flooding and had been due to speak at the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, alongside the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge.

But a Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister will briefly dip in to meet with international leaders attending the event but his attendance will be cut short."

The new Cabinet committee on flood recovery will meet tomorrow, replacing a scheduled meeting of the full Cabinet.

The Prime Minister said: “Nothing is more important than dealing with these floods.

“There is absolutely no sign of this threat abating. It will be a long haul and it will require a stepped-up national effort with the whole country pulling together.

People struggle against extremely high winds and biting rain in Manchester City Centre [LNP]

The riverside town of Marlow, in Buckinghamshire has been swamped by the River Thames [CASCADE]

“One of the most inspiring things I have seen over the past two days has been the incredible spirit of volunteers in our communities.

“Amidst all of this as is so often the case, in the toughest of times we are seeing the best of Britain.

"It will take time but together we will deal with these floods, we will get our country back on its feet and we will build a more resilient country for the future.”

Mr Cameron also held a second meeting of the Cobra emergencies committee where he was assured that efforts were continuing around the clock to restore power and train services and re-open roads that had been forced to close.

Downing Street said that he was also briefed on plans to prepare for further bad weather later in the week including along coastal areas.

Jonathan Powell, of Vantage Weather Services, said: “Gusts of more than 90mph are likely, with yet more torrential downpours.”

Leon Brown, of The Weather Channel, said Storm Darwin is loaded with a sting jet, a powerful and vicious rift of fast-flowing air which follows the main storm system. “This threatens some very high winds indeed for the north of England,” he said.

An ariel photograph of the Somerset levels shows the land before the flooding and now [SWNS]

Gusts of more than 90mph are likely, with yet more torrential downpours

Jonathan Powell, of Vantage Weather Services

Andrew McKenzie, hydrogeologist from the British Geological Survey, said the flooding emergency is likely to continue for months.

He said: “Groundwater flooding could last until May even if the rain stops, as the levels are so high. The aquifers are at their highest levels since 2001.”

The Met Office has confirmed the wettest winter on record in central, southern and south-east England.

People living near the £110million Jubilee River defences that protect Windsor and Maidenhead have been warned it is close to being overwhelmed and they should prepare to evacuate their homes.

The car has a near miss with a tree as it falls in the storm [Demotix]